Sunday, February 08, 2015

Removing the Red Tape from Peaceful Protest

Efficiency savings at the Metropolitan Firearms and Headbangers' Club have led to the rather convenient consequence that public protest will now be the preserve of those who can afford to hire a private company to maintain security. The Metropolitan Punishment Service (MPS) has refused to police a proposed demonstration by the Campaign Against Climate Change (CACC), on the novel grounds that no criminal activity is expected; this is certainly a welcome change from the usual stance of coshing the noisy ones and kettling the rest, but it leaves the marchers having to pay for their own stewards and traffic management. On the bright side, such arrangements are unlikely to be beyond the financial resources of sane and legitimate grassroots organisations like the Taxpayers' Alliance (TPA), the English Defence League (EDL) and the British Union of Garden and Home Owners for Unlimited Shale Extraction (BUGHOUSE).